Whats done is done
by bonniereads
Summary: Derek and Casey have just started dating. Somebody from Casey's past comes along during a time when Derek will be gone for months on end. Casey trusts Derek and Derek trusts her, but he doesn't trust her blast from the past. How will they cope?
1. Chapter 1

**7 years ago, early freshman year in high school**

When Casey was younger, she was dorky, and she was able to admit that, that's fine. She knew the head-gear wasn't much of a turn on, and her uniform didn't do her dancing figure any justice.

That didn't stop her from trying to date the most popular boy in the all boys academy in the next town. His name was Collin Peterson. Handsomest boy she'd ever seen, and he was two grades ahead of her. He had green eyes and the thickest dirty blonde hair that was very unruley and curly, and hot. The hair was most likely what attracted her to him.

So she went for it. She knew it was long shot to even flirt with him, but when he flirted right back, to say she was surprised was an understatement. She decided it was a good idea to go slow. After all, he was hot and she was...head-gear Casey McDonald.  
Eventually Collin kissed her. Her first actual kiss, too! The problem was that they weren't an established couple yet. They were just the cutesy friends who kissed every so often.

Until one day when Casey stopped hearing from Collin. She got fed up being ignored through text, so she just stopped by his house to see what was going on.  
When he answered the door, he was definitely surprised she'd showed up. He looked slightly uncomfortable, and he stepped outside with her, not letting her in the house she'd been inside of plenty of times.

"What's going on, Collin? Why are you ignoring me?" she huffed, both angry at him and at herself for caring so much about why he was ignoring her.

Collin scratched the back of his neck, and looked away nervously. "Look, Casey...I've just been busy lately is all."

"Why are you ignoring me, though? Did I do something wrong?" she wrung her hands uneasily. The way he was acting put her on edge, and she felt like he was about to rip her heart out.

"No...Look, Casey you're a really nice girl...I just don't see us going anywhere with this." He shrugged at her.

Devastated was at the top of the list of things Casey felt at the moment. As well as confusion. "I thought you liked me..."

"I do! But you're just..." he gestured at her awkwardly. "So young and..."

Before Casey could scoff and backfire, the front door opened. Now Casey had been beyond shocked to see Melly Stephens, junior class president and head athletic coordinator standing in the doorway looking blonde and beautiful next to frumpy Casey McDonald.  
"Oh, hey, Case!" she beamed. "What are you doing here?" she asked, totally unaware of what was happening.

"Melly, can you excuse us for a few seconds?" Collin sighed uneasily as he eyed Casey carefully trying to read her. She wasn't giving anything away, but he knew she was shocked.

"Sure, hon!" she smiled, and pecked his cheek affectionately while Casey watched in horror. Melly was back inside at the click of the door.

Collin eyed the McDonald girl warily, not sure what the next move was.

"So that's what you were looking for then? Somebody who looked like that?" Casey's lip trembled.

"Don't cry, McDonald..." the irony of a boy not being able to stand tears didn't get passed her later on in her life.

"She's just older and...look are we cool?" he asked, still afraid to see her cry and just as afraid to lose his friend.

All she could do was shrug at him, trying to control her emotions.

"Look, this was for the best, eh? What were you gonna do with me anyways? You're very inexperienced, and-"

Casey held her hand up to interrupt him. "I don't need to hear anymore." she put on a front, shrugging slightly. "Its fine, Collin." she lied.

Without another word, she was stepping off his step, and walking away. That was the last time she'd ever heard anything about Collin Peterson. It didn't help that her mother moved them into her step family's house the next week. Although she hated the idea of moving, it really couldn't have come at a better time.

* * *

**Present Day: Junior year at Queens**

It was another slow day at the diner, and honestly, Casey couldn't wait to get off work so she could study for that test she had tomorrow. Unfortunately it was the beginning of her shift still, and nobody ever came in on Wednesdays.

Around lunch, a few people had walked in, and she was glad to busy herself. As she was clearing off a table, somebody sat at the table's neighbor, and she put on her best smile and walked over to him.

"Hi, how are you? Can I start you off with drink?" she asked cheerily.

"Uhm...how about a strawberry lemonade?" he asked, not glancing up at her from his menu.

Now Casey McDonald had the best memory on earth. She remembered every thing about her past down to the very smallest detail. Voices were one thing she was keen on. So once she heard his voice, her eyes snapped to the face, that was still covered with the menu. She'd only had the hugest crush on him, so she'd definitly remembered how his voice sounded from the many afternoons that they'd spend together after her afterschool dance practice and his football schedule.

"Collin Peterson?" she asked uneasily, sort of wanting to be wrong, but of course, Casey McDonald was never wrong.

When he glanced up, she recognized the unruly blonde hair and piercing green eyes that accompanied the still handsome and much more mature face of the boy she once had a crush on.

He squinted, because he recognized her, of course, but couldn't put a name to the face. Casey saw that she had him at a disadvantage. She blushed slightly, and looked down at her hands.

"I'm Casey McDonald...we used to hangout a lot when I was freshman, and you were a junior..."

"Casey?" his eyes widened in recognition. To say he was in shock was an understatement. The last time he'd seen Casey, she was full on metal mouth and dorky hairstyle...now...Well now she was all curves and gorgeous.

"You remember?" she asked cautiously behind her eyelashes.

"Of course!" he stood up and hugged her. "How've you been? Are you attending Queens right now?"

"Yeah, I am!" she grinned, happy that she didn't just embarrass herself. "You?"

"Yeah! I just transferred, actually. Needed a change of scenery, plus it's closer to home. We moved out to Kingston my senior year, so I'm on my home turf again." he smiled at her handsomely. She was glad that he didn't have the same effect on her that he did when she was fourteen.

"That's awesome, it's so good to see you. What's it been, seven years?"

"And you still remember me." he winked at her. She blushed again, suddenly feeling the embarrassment of the last time they talked and how angry she was with him.

"Hey, toots, can I get a refill?" She heard an all too familiar voice call from across the diner. She glanced at him, not even aware that he'd been there and just seen the exchange that just happened. She visibly rolled her eyes at him, and she heard his chuckle from the other side of the restaurant.

"So strawberry lemonade?" she asked him. She caught the annoyed look he gave to her rude customer. She couldn't help but grin, but said nothing about it.  
She gave both customers their drinks, but only leaving one of them with a smack to the back of his head.

"So hey, where'd you run off to?...I never really heard from you again..." Collin asked uneasily as Casey set down his burger and fries.

"I didn't run off. My mom got remarried and I moved to Ontario." Casey shrugged.

"Oh..." what else could he really say? Seeing Casey all these years later, and he knew he deserved a good kick in the keister. She was so beautiful. She was before, too, of course. But now...she was all legs and all matured out.

"Hey, Princess, how 'bout some inflight entertainment, eh?" the rude customer from earlier called out to her.

"Ugh..." Casey gave him a look, and his burst of laughter made her screw her eyes closed tight.

"C'mon, baby!" he called again.

"Hey, man, why don't you just relax, okay?" Collin threatened from his seat, not taking his eyes off the brown eyed boy across the restaurant. Said boy just held his hands up in amusement. Collin wanted to punch the smirk off his face.

"Sorry about him." Casey shrugged.

"I could take care of him, if you'd like." Collin offered. Casey smiled softly at him.

"That won't be necessary." she shrugged one shoulder. "Holler if you need anything."

As she walked away, Collin grabbed her wrist. "Hey, Case?" his voice was softer "Can I take you out to dinner tomorrow?" he asked hopefully.  
Casey's blush returned, and Collin felt somewhat accomplished because he thought he'd have to work harder.

"You see, I'd love to, but...I sort of have a boyfriend...he might not like that too much..."

And he was shot down. What did he expect when she looked like that?

"Of course..." he shook his head with a grin. "Why wouldn't you have a boyfriend?"

"You can meet him, if you'd like. You might actually like him." Casey smiled again.

"Yeah, that'd be cool." Collin shrugged, knowing it would be anything but cool to meet her boyfriend.

To his surprise, Casey abruptly turned around, and headed to the brown eyed boy's table, and grabbed his hand, muttering something to him as they walked back to Collin's table.

"Collin, this is my boyfriend, Derek Venturi. Der, this is Collin Peterson, an old friend from Toronto." Casey gestured between the two.  
Collin gaped, not believing that Casey was dating this neanderthal.

Next to Derek Venturi, Collin Peterson looked buff. Derek had a build on him, that made Collin believe that he probably did work out. Collin still played football to the day, though. Derek would definitely give him a run for his money as far as looks went though, Collin had to admit to himself.

"Derek..." Collin said uneasily, somewhat embarrassed for trying to defend Casey's honor against him earlier.

"Peterson! How are ya?" A mischievous smirk graced his lips. If Collin's memory served correctly, Casey McDonald was challenging at fourteen. He can only imagine how she was at 21. He could tell just from Derek's smirk that he was just as, if not more, challenging that Casey. The thought made him grin.

"I'm fine, how long have you known Casey?"

"About...what...?" he looked at Casey, not remembering the exact year.

"Around after I left Toronto." Casey rolled her eyes. "So say, seven years."

"Picking up the pieces after me, eh?" Collin could've slapped himself for saying that. Casey's face turned 10 shades pinker.

"Don't tell me you guys dated?" Derek's smirk was deeper if possible.

"No!" Casey sighed, and shook her head. "I have to work. Der, I'll see you at the apartment later." she leaned up and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips, and walked kitchen of the diner, leaving the other two men alone together.

Derek pat Collin's shoulder, and bid him goodbye, immediately heading out of the restaurant, but being sure to make a mental note to ask Casey all about the blonde she'd just introduced him to.

* * *

**Okay! I know I've been gone FOREVER. I just got my laptop fixed, and I've been wanting to write this. At first this was going to be a one-shot, but I decided to merge ideas together. This will be a chapter story. Yay!**  
**The next chapter will be less Collin and more Dasey, but Collin will come back. It's not as predictable as it sounds, don't worry!**  
**As for my story The Cure, I'm working on it! I'm so effing sorry for the delay! I know it's been forever, but I will update as soon as I lose my writer's block for that story!**  
**The update for this one will be soon! It's been burning in my mind forever already and now that I have my computer, I don't think I'll be able to stay away from writing. I missed this! Please Review and tell me whats up, guys! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Somewhat fluffy.**

**Enjoy:)**

* * *

Casey rushed home from the restaurant and quickly changed into her yoga pants and oversized sweater. She needed to study, and study hard. She opened her book and set up a study station on the kitchen island of their apartment. Midterms were bad enough as it was, and she'd hardly studied thanks to her hours at work.

Of course, she could probably pass the test with her eyes closed, but that was the kind of over-confidence that gets you a failing grade.

In the midst of her session, she felt familiar arms circle her waste, and nuzzle her neck. He brushed his lips against her skin and she could feel his smile.

"Der, I really need to be studying." but she had abandoned her pen and leaned into him.

"Take a break and hang out with me for a bit, Casey." he murmured, trailing kisses up and down her neck.

When Casey had first met Derek, distractions were absolutely unacceptable. Derek had known better at the time, too. Usually if he'd distracted Casey during an intense study session, he'd end up with a yelling match or a book chucked at him (with Casey's bad aim, it wasn't such a big deal).

When they started dating the previous year, he slowly but surely got her to appreciate a distraction. Lord knew she needed them. Casey was tense since day one in the Venturi household. Not that Derek helped the matter at all.

Of course Casey should have known that he was just harboring feelings the whole time. During their second year at University, Derek caved and kissed her during an argument. She was pretty sure they were just fighting over some stupid prank Derek had pulled on her. He was being arrogant, and that fueled her hatred for him even more, making her yell louder. That had irritated Derek, and on instinct (like when his previous girlfriends were upset), he kissed her to shut her up.

He'd forgotten who they were and what they were supposed to be to each other. Honestly, it never mattered to him. What had mattered at that moment was that Casey was kissing him back, and that she was actually snaking her fingers into his hair.

Obviously, being Casey, she freaked out and didn't speak to him for a whole week. A _week_! Imagine how deflated his ego had gotten after that. It wasn't until the week was up that Casey lunged herself at him, frustrated that he hadn't tried to talk to her. So she fought with another kiss, and the rest was history.

So here they were a year and a half later, and happily in love. Derek was slowly leading her to the living room for some quality time. She sat in his laps, straddling him, and holding his face in hers to hold him still, softly brushing her lips to his. Derek held his arms around her waste, and slowly leading them down her back.

She pulled away slightly and cocked an eyebrow up at him. "I'm not about to play this game, Derek. You cannot seduce me while I have to study." she murmured, and pressed another kiss to his lips.

"If you're trying to play hard to get, you're failing miserably." He smirked at her and nudged his nose to hers playfully.

"Seriously, Der! I need to study!" she rubbed her hands up and down his upper arms and shoulders.

"I still can't believe I'm dating someone who chooses studying over macking out with me."

"I can't believe I'm dating someone who uses the term 'macking out'." She teased him. She'd tried to stand up, but he pulled her back down. "Der-ek! I need to study. Please..." she brushed her lips up and down his neck.

"That isn't helping your case." he groaned and leaned his head back against the sofa.

"I know." she smiled agains this skin this time.

"What are you going to do with yourself when I have to leave next week?" he asked softly.

"The same thing you'll have to do." she looked into his eyes. "Cope." she pressed another kiss to his lips.

Derek had entered and won the chance to travel with this film festival that would be traveling Canada and some of America for the next six months. Casey was both ecstatic and sad to see him go. Ecstatic because this was the exact break Derek needed for the big leagues. Sad for the obvious reasons. She'd miss the hell out of him. But he needed this.

For a while she was upset that he'd have to take the semester of school off, but this was good. He was still taking two online classes so at least he was still studying and trying to finish his major.

"But who will distract you when you go crazy studying?" he raised an amused brow at her. She sat back in his lap, and crossed her arms.

"I'll be fine! I got along studying long before I met you." She raised her own eyebrow at him.

"_Ouch_!" he clutched his chest in mock pain. "That hurts, Spacey! You act like you don't need me around!"

"Well..." she looked away, playing along. Derek fake gasped, and Casey flung her arms around him. "I'm gonna miss you so much, Derek." she sighed, and just held him, resting her cheek on his shoulder. He clutched her tighter.

"I'll miss you, too, baby." he mumbled, kissing her hair. "Lets get you studying and I'll make you some mac n' cheese, yeah?"

She loved when he was sweet on her. It wasn't so rare these days, but it still took her breath away. He had to know it, because he would give her a genuine grin when she'd act shy around his kindness.

As they made their way to the kitchen, Derek remembered their day. "So who was this hunk at the restaraunt that got you all hot and bothered?"  
"Der, I was not hot and bothered. I was mostly shocked. I hadn't seen him in so long." She shrugged, trying to find her place in her book once more.

"Who the heck was he? He seemed too familiar with you and I've never met him." Because Derek knew everyone Casey did. He made sure of it ever since she moved in with his family.

"Just someone I'd known from Toronto. He'd gone to the all boy's school nearby."

"Someone you knew, or someone you knew?" Derek eyed her.

"Derek Venturi..." Casey couldn't hide her smile and accompanying gasp, "are you _jealous_?"

"Casey!" he scoffed. "_Please_, don't offend me! That guy has nothing on me!"

"No. He doesn't." she smirked, and looked down at her book.

"You're not telling me something." he caught the mischevious gleam in her eye. "What was he to you?"

"Derek, stop sounding so jealous, it was seven years ago, and we didn't even date." She rolled her eyes.

"Tell me." He demanded. She looked up, and was relieved to see some amusement in his eyes. She was almost afraid he'd gone serious on her, and she'd have to reassure him.

So she told him. Every single detail until the last time she saw him. Derek was disgusted that Casey was treated that way.

Casey shrugged. "It was a long time ago. Plus, he trained me to deal with other jerks that were to come." She eyed him playfully.

"_Hey_! Even I knew back then how special you were, though!" he exclaimed, slightly coloring at the confession. He walked around the counter to her, and stood between her legs on her stool, and kissed her.

"Oh don't go shy on me, Venturi, you already told me you had the hots for me back then." she noted the slight blush on his cheeks.

"It was your legs." he trailed his fingers down her hips and to the outside of her thighs, giving them a light squeeze and lifting them higher over his hips.

"Cad..." she mumbled.

"Prude..." he kissed her. It was hard to get anything done when Derek was around, really. If he wasn't so good at kissing, she'd have accomplished way more in her life bynow.

"I'm not..." she reached for the button of his jeans.

"No...at least I was your first there." he noted, watching her hands warily. "I can't believe you let some jerk be your first kiss." he shook his head.

"Do you really want to talk about that while my hand is down your pants?" Casey murmured leaning in to press her lips against his collar bone.

"Oh no..."

After turning off the boiling water, Casey's studies were soon forgotten as her and Derek made their way to their bedroom.

* * *

**Hope y'all liked it. It was short, but I needed to include sort of how they got together. I'll maybe bring up the family and whether or not they know in the next chapter.**

**Have you guys seen_ Long Story, Short_ yet? It's a mini web series Michael Seater comes out on. It's pretty good. Theres a new episode every Monday. You can find links on his twitter.**

**Anyways, please Comment and let me know how I'm doing:).**


	3. Chapter 3

**Enjoy:)**

* * *

Derek still had a lot of paperwork to take care of on campus before he left for the film tour. This was really the chance of a life time, and he was overwhelmed with excitement. He never knew he'd be good enough at something to make a career out of it (even his dreams about hockey were limited).

Of course, he'd never be able to get through any of this without Casey. She was too amazing through all of this. She'd helped him enough in high school to pass his classes.

When he asked her to help him register for classes at Queens, she didn't even bat an eyelash, and she was throwing classes and ideas into his head. She was the main reason he even reconsidered the whole film thing. It's crazy how much she cared for him when they were still supposed to be hating each other.

So naturally, she helped pay for his first camera with some of her grant money, and she left the rest to him. She offered to be his muse in a couple of projects after they'd started dating. Honestly, before they were dating and he'd had her in a few projects, she was still his muse. She always was.

Then the whole film festival tour competition happened. She made him enter it, and the day he found out he'd won, he didn't know how to act. He'd never tell anyone he cried, just that he got dirt in his eye (it was a windy day, okay?). Casey openly cried and smothered him in kisses, congratulating him with "I knew you could do it, I had no doubt!"

The only bad thing he could thing of about his opportunity was leaving behind the one person who helped him even begin this short journey. Casey didn't bat an eye either when he told her how long he'd be gone. She just hugged him, and told him she'd wait forever if it meant he was able to do what he loved. As cheesy and romantic that was (yes he teased her for it), he couldn't be more grateful for anyone in his whole life.

Walking on campus thinking of her, he actually saw her from a distance exiting the gym from her dance class. As he made his way over to her, he saw that she wasn't alone. That Collin guy was with her.

Derek grinned when he saw how she was walking next to the guy. She had her jacket hugged to her chest, standing at a safe distance with an awkward smile on her face while the guy talked. If he knew anything at all, it was how Casey McDonald looked when she was uncomfortable. He jogged over, getting her out of her misery.

She saw him right away, and he was pleased to see a wave of relief flash through her eyes.

"Hey, Princess." he kissed her temple, and looked up at Collin. "Peterson!" He held out his hand to the blonde standing next to his girlfriend. Derek didn't miss the frosty look that he gave him, but that only made his smirk deepen.

"Derek, right?" he cocked an eyebrow up.

"That's me." Derek laughed a little, and looked down at Casey, who'd he'd wrapped an arm around securely tucking to his side. "What are you fine people talking about."

"Oh, Collin was asking if they were hiring at the restaurant. I said I'd put a good word in for him." Casey shrugged.

"That's very polite of you, Spacey. Any other good deeds you get done today, girl scout?"

Casey only rolled her eyes at her boyfriend with a slight grin. "What are you even doing on campus?"

"Just some final paperwork before the tour." he shrugged.

"What is it that you do?" Collin's interest was peaked.

Casey briefly explained to him what was happening, Derek catching the twinkle in her eye as she said it. He really did love when she got that look in her eyes. He peeked back up at Collin, and his brow furrowed. Collin's expressions seemed too pleased.

"So you're going to be gone for six whole months?" Derek could tell he was faking interest in his career, and he could tell that he was more pleased he'd be out of the picture.

"Yup." He shrugged.

"I'm sure going to miss him, too." Casey cuddled his side with a pout.

"That ought to be hard on your relationship, though, huh?"

"Nope." It was Casey who instantly spoke up with a smile. "It'll take a lot more than six months of distance to keep us apart. We're too stubborn to let it effect us."

Collin got an uneasy smile on his face, and that was when Derek decided it was time to go their separate ways.

They walked happily to their apartment not too far off campus, enjoying the Canadian breeze. It was still cold out, so Derek walked with his arm around his girlfriend while she talked about her day.

"Shelby thinks we should start an actual team already. Sucks we didn't think of it sooner, I would've loved being on a dance team throughout my college life." She smiled.

"Yeah, then you're schedule would be even crazier." Derek laughed. "Although, I guess it would've been cool to go see you compete again. You haven't really done so in a while."

"Maybe during the summer, since I'll be a part time student anyways, I'll look for some local stuff to see if there are any competitions."

They walked through the front door, and first thing Derek did was boot up the laptop to check his homework list online.

"Oh, my mom called earlier. Says your dad bonked the Davis' trashcan over with the car again last night." she rolled her eyes, stifling a smile.

"I swear, they should just take that licence away once and for all." Derek rolled his eyes. "Giving the Venturis a bad name."

"Don't act all pro driver on me now, Der. I saw the dent you left on the Prince last month." She put her hands on her hips. She'd actually seen him do it, too. He'd bumped into a pole while backing out of the apartment's parking lot.

"You have no proof." He mumbled. "So what else did step-mommy say?" he tried to nonchalantly change the subject.

"Ugh. She kept on ranting about Vicky being pregnant and how we need to be safer." she said with disgust. Dear cousin Vicky had apparently gotten pregnant and was now in her second trimester. Ever since, Nora had been calling Casey more than usual to be sure no news had turned up of her own daughter getting knocked up.

"It was your idea to tell them we were together." Derek shrugged, typing away on his essay that was just assigned. "We would be blissfully living without awkward parental conversations if you hadn't blabbed."

"Excuse me for wanting everyone to know I was in love." Casey growled, searching the cabinets for dinner to make. "Plus...you know how much I hate secrets." she murmured the last part.

"Yeah, well...It is pretty awesome that we don't have to sneak around to kiss."

"Sneaking around is also something I hate. You know I'm a horrible liar anyways. Mom only now started freaking out about us being together. Don't worry, I plan on staying on the pill for a while." she winked at her boyfriend.

He smirked, making sure to rake his eyes up and down her body so she'd know what's on his mind. She blushed profusely and shook her head, pointing at his laptop indicating that he had homework to do. He rolled his eyes and looked back at the screen.

While Casey cleaned up after dinner, Derek helped do dishes while she wiped down every surface of the kitchen that was touched.

"So Peterson plans to work with you now, eh?"

"I guess he just needs extra money. We're hiring anyways." Casey shrugged, showing no interest in the conversation.

"I don't like him. The way he was looking at you today." Derek shook his head, not looking at Casey. "He's still into you, you know."

"Trust me, he was never interested in me. Like I told you last week. Just leave it, Der, it's not a big deal."

"I feel like it is, I just have this...feeling about him." He rarely ever showed signs of jealousy, and ever since they'd seen Collin Peterson last week Derek had a nagging feeling in the back of his head. Seeing the way he looked at her today only clarified his paranoid thoughts.

"Derek, honestly, I don't care for him."

"You did at one point."

"Yeah, when I was like fifteen." she scoffed, coming up behind him, and wrapping her arms around him. "I've never seen you like this. It's sort of hot...and annoying. I don't care about Collin. I'm just helping an old friend make a little extra money." she pushed a kiss to his shoulder.

"I trust you, Princess. It's him I would keep an eye on, if I were you. I wouldn't doubt if he'd try something while I was gone." Derek grumbled.

"Don't worry, babe. I carry mace with me everywhere. He tries anything, I'll be sure to blind him with it." she pressed another kiss to the back of his neck.

"You sure are handsy today." He commented. "Not that I'm complaining."

"Well, you're leaving in two days, and you jealous is kind of hot." She purred.

"Well, I can leave these dishes..."

"Nope! Finish them. I have homework that needs to be done as well." She smiled playfully, and trailed her hand across his shoulder as she walked away.

"Tease!" he flicked water in her direction, and she left giggling.

* * *

**Derek will leave next chapter. Waahh, but we will definitely be hearing from him, don't worry. :).**

**Hope you guys are still reading, I want Derek to prank Casey one last time before he leaves, so leave me suggestions, because I'm the worst at thinking of pranks, otherwise I'd probably write more oneshots or add more of them in my stories.**

**Review Please! Also check out my story The Cure if you haven't already:).**


	4. Chapter 4

**Eek, next chapter, ENJOY:)**

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"DE-_REK_!"

A smirk curved on his face as he heard his girlfriend yell his name from the shower. Since it was his last day with her for six months, he figured he'd bring out the old school pranks and pour some honey into her shampoo. That wasn't his first prank of the day, either. All of her clothes, other than her under garments, had miraculously disappeared without a trace.

He was a bit rusty, but it was harder to prank her now that not only did she expect it, but he was afraid she'd be mad enough to kick him out of her room and he'd go a night without sleeping in the same bed as her (he didn't know how he was going to go six months).

"What do you expect me to wear?!" she burst into the kitchen. "And do you have any idea how hard it is to wash honey out of your hair?" she glared daggers at him.

"Sorry, babe, maybe this'll help." And before Casey knew it, from across the kitchen, Derek had one of Casey's bras into slingshot position and a waterballoon was thrust through the air and into her face. A high-pitched screech and running away, she was gone.

"I can't _stand_ you sometimes!" she yelled from her room. "You better clean that up!" and her door was slammed.

"Shit..." he murmured. When she chose not to fight back with him, it usually wasn't a good sign. He was hoping for witty remarks and for her to run towards him to grab the rest of his balloons.

Quickly, he grabbed a towel, and dried up the water from her face balloon. Then, he made his way to their bedroom. He was suprised to see that she locked the door on him, which rarely ever happened.

"Case, c'mon!" he knocked on the door.

"Leave!" she said sullenly, and he could hear the thickness in her voice on the edge of tears. He rested his forehead against the door and sighed.

"Casey, let me in." he mumbled.

Swiftly, almost making him fall face forward, she swung the door open, and was glaring at him. Usually, he'd be terrified when she looked at him like this, but she was wearing only her bra and panties, so it pretty hard for him to feel intimidated. It was little moments like this that he was glad that Casey still danced and took yoga.

"What am I supposed to wear?!" she snapped him out of his perverted gaze.

"I don't know, I like this look." He grinned lazily at her, and leand a shoulder against the doorframe.

As if on instinct, Casey reached for the nearest object and threw it at him. Luckily for him, it was her lipstick. With ease, he caught it, and laughed.

"I hate when you do this!" she growled, and walked to her dresser drawers. "You didn't leave me a thing! I still have class before I drop you off with the guys, you know!"

Derek walked to the bed, and flopped onto it with a light laugh. "I don't know, I left some of my clothes in there. You should try wearing those."

Casey rolled her eyes, and found that he'd left a few shirts in there for her to choose from. One was a navy longsleeved Queens shirt. She sighed, and pulled it over her head.

Derek looked over to her and grinned. "How am I supposed to leave you looking like _that_?" And then he winked at her.

Casey stuck her tongue out at him, and made her way to the laundry room where she knew a pair of her black leggings were nealty folded over the washing machine. Knowing she was going over there, Derek couldn't hold back the smirk that curved his lips.

"I hate you!" she ran into their room with her leggings. "These were my favorite!" She held them up, and in plain sight, you could see that Derek had cut the crotch out of Casey's favorite black leggings.

"I think it makes a statement, don't you think?" He flinched away from the mascara that flew at his head. "C'mon, Case! I did it for easy access!"

"Derek Venturi, you are by far the most infuriating person I've ever met!" she screeched, and went back to his drawer, pulling on his red plaid pajama bottoms. She struggled to tighten them, for they were old and the string was almost nonexistent. "There! Are you happy?" she yelled exasperated.

He eyed her over. Casey could wear a paper bag and still completely take his breath away. "I'm ecstatic." he winked at her, and stood up, walking towards her.

Before he could wrap his arms around her, she held her hands up to stop him. "I'm so mad at you right now." she whispered, the actual anger quickly vanishing just by being in this close proximity to him, and Derek sensed that.

"Case, I had to leave with a bang, don't you think?" he reached up, and caressed her face. He saw her lip tremble, and he saw the inner struggle of her trying to hold back.

"I have class..." she whispered, and leaned her face into his hand, closing her eyes.  
Without warning, Derek leaned down and captured her lips in his. "I'll drive." he whispered against them, never really removing them from hers. "I'll be out there waiting when you're out."

Casey's arms had wound around behind his neck during this exchange, and she sighed heavily.

Casey was walking with her friend Bethany after class had finally let out. By this time, she'd already cooled off, and was excited to see Derek. They only had a few hours left together after all, so she'd make the best of it.

"Are you going to tell me why you're dressed like this today? Rebelling?" Bethany teased her. Casey bumped her friend's shoulder with her own with a laugh.

"Derek stole my clothes and refuses to tell me where they are. I checked everywhere, even the vents, and nothing." Casey groaned. "I'm sure he'll tell me once he's going to leave, or something." She shook her head with a roll of her eyes. By this time in their friendship, Bethany was used to Derek torturing his poor girlfriend, so all she could do was shake her head with that look that said "Oh, that Derek."

"I have no idea how you'll ever survive without him." Bethany gave Casey a genuine sympathetic look.

Casey sighed sadly. "Me neither. I haven't spent more than a day away from him in like seven years...how am I supposed to survive half of one year?" Casey begged her friend for an answer.

"Believe me, lady, nothing can get between you two." Beth put her arm around her saddened friend.

"Ladies." Collin's voice rang next to them cheerily.

"Hey Collin." Bethany smiled prettily at him. Casey giggled lightly at her friend's obvious attraction to him. Beth's fluttering lashes went unnoticed by Collin, as all his attention was focused on Casey.

"What's with the get-up?" he grinned, pulling at the fabric on her arm.

"Derek pranked me." She shrugged like it was natural.

The handsome blonde's head twisted to the side, confused as to why Casey was so nonchalant about it.

"That was...nice...of him..." he murmured. Casey laughed softly, and Collin felt the breath leave him. How could this girl look this beautiful when she was wearing an oversized longsleeve and worn out old pajama pants?

"So, Collin, how was the interview?" Bethany asked him, cutting into his thoughts.

"Great! I start on Monday! Thanks for the kind words, McDonald!" he squeezed her shoulder with one hand, and when he heard a throat cleared in front of them, he looked up to see a cocked eyebrow of Derek Venturi standing in front of them.

"Hey, Der." Casey said softly, walking away from her friend, and Collin, and into her boyfriend's embrace. After a kiss was delivered to her, Derek made direct eye contact with Collin.

"Peterson!" He said with over enthusiasm. "How you doin', bud?"

Collin was quiet for a beat, and put on a fake smile for the group. "I'm great, I was just telling your girl how thankful I was for her kind words to the manager at the restaurant. I'm starting next week." Collin didn't miss the cloudiness that spread through Derek's face, and was instantly proud that he could see that he intimidated him.

"Well, that's great, eh, Spacey?" Derek put his arms around Casey and squeezed her to his body to show Mr. Peterson who she belonged to.

"Yeah, it is." Casey murmured, finally catching gist of what was happening. "You know, Der, I think we should head back already." her fingers brushed over his that were over her belly softly, and removed them, and made her way to the passenger side of the Prince. "See you two!" she waved at Collin and Bethany.

Once Derek took off, Casey gave him a pointed look.

"What?" he feigned innocence.

"You know what you did. I'm not saying it." She couldn't hide the smile in her voice.

"Well, he was eye fucking you! He thinks that once I'm gone, he's going to have some claim on you! I can see it, I know guys like him!" he ranted.

"Der, you honestly think I'd do that to you? Plus...once he works with me for a week, he won't stand me." she grinned. All of Casey's coworkers knew she was a pain in the ass when it came to cleanup.

"True...okay, I feel better." He shrugged happily. Casey scoffed, and punched his arm. "Seriously, Case, he makes one move, or looks at you the wrong way, you call me and I'll be on the first flight out to kick his ass."

"Derek, this isn't the first time that a guy has shown interest in me when you're around. It's fine, _I'm_ fine." she shook her head. "No need for you to go all caveman!"

"There is a need! The difference between those guys and this one is that the other ones knew better, Case!"

"Derek..." her voice softened, and her hand found his shoulder as she traced circles on him, the act sending shivers down his spine. "If he tries anything on me, I'll knee him so hard in the groin, it'll turn him gay. Now stop this, and enjoy your last hours in town with me before you have to leave me all by myself." she pouted.

Derek looked at her and sighed, grabbing onto her hand that was on his shoulder with a smile, murmuring "Sorry." to her.

When it came time to drop him off with the guys from the festival crew that were also touring the next six months. Luckily the tour was going through their hometown, that way Derek would still be able to say hi and bye to the family. Casey wouldn't be able to make it home for that occasion. She couldn't risk missing school, especially since that stop was around the time of her midterms.

When they stepped out of the Prince and got all of Derek's bags out, Casey leaned against the car, and looked up at him as he made his way in front of her. Slowly, he reached up and cupped her face in his hands, simply looking down at her.

"I don't do cheesy romance, Case...but you look beautiful..." he whispered above her lips.

"I still can't believe you didn't tell me where my clothes were. I look homeless, Der." she whined. "I just wanted to look pretty for you before you left." she sighed.

"Case...you don't have to wear nice clothes for me to think that you're pretty. Without the nice clothes..." he pressed her into the car so that there was no space between their bodies, and Casey's arms found their way around his back. "I want you, right here..." he murmured, finishing his sentence.

"De-_rek_..." she groaned. "We said goodbye...plenty of times...at the apartment today...and last night..." she tried to compose herself, but Derek's lips were on her throat.

"Venturi, you got less than five!" Gerald, the head of the tour yelled out to him. Derek peeked up and nodded at his colleague. He sighed, and leaned his forehead to Casey's as they both quickly cooled off.

"The neighbor." he said.

"What?"

"The neighbor has your clothes." he tried not to laugh. "Told him I was pranking you, and he gladly just held onto them for me."

"De-_rek_!" she screeched, and pushed him away from her.

He laughed, and grabbed for her hand, and grabbed one finger, and looked into her eyes. "I know I'm leaving, Case, but I want you to know that I'll think of you the whole time I'm gone. I love you. I love firing you up...I love when you're just...you...I love that you could look beautiful wearing the ugliest clothes that I own..." Casey felt something on her thumb. She looked down to see Derek's high school class ring. "This is a promise that even this stupid distance won't do anything to us. I won't let it." he pressed a kiss to her lips, and his fingers found her face, wiping away the tears that had fallen.

When he released her, he finished wiping her tears and smiled down at her. "Try not to cry too much, babe. I'll skype you first thing when I get to the hotel tomorrow."

Within seconds, Derek was gone on the gigantic bus with a few other people who were on the film tour and she realized that she'd only just now started crying while she was saying goodbye. She figured out that the reason he was pranking her all day was to take her mind off of the sadness, and it had really worked. Never had she ever thought she was going to be able to admit that she was thankful for Derek's pranking. Or how much she was going to miss it.

* * *

**So I know that tours like this probably don't exist, but it's my story okay? lol let it be. **

**So Derek's gone, and who knows what'll happen with Collin? I like a jealous Derek. **

**I wrote a zombie-esque one-shot, on my once upon shot folder! y'all should read and review that one.**

**Anyways, please leave me some love, and have an amazing November:)**


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